Buddhist Pilgrim-Monks as Agents of Cultural and Artistic Transmission

In the mid-seventh century, a class of Buddhist pilgrim-monks disseminated an art style in China, Japan, and Korea that was uniform in both iconography and formal properties. Traveling between the courts and religious centers of the region, these pilgrim-monks played a powerful role in this proto-cosmopolitanism, promulgating what came to be known as the International Buddhist Art Style. In Buddhist Pilgrim-Monks as Agents of Cultural and Artistic Transmission, Dorothy C. Wong argues that the visual expression found in this robust new art style arose alongside the ascendant theory of the Buddhist state, and directly influenced it. Aided by lavish illustrations, Wong's book shows that the visual language transmitted and circulated by these pilgrim-monks served as a key agent in shaping the cultural landscape of Northeast Asia. This is the first major study of the vital role played by Buddhist pilgrim-monks in conveying the notions of Buddhist kingship via artistic communication. Wong's interdisciplinary analysis will attract scholars in Asian art history and religious studies.

In Germany, as in many western countries, there are no professor positions at universities devoted specifically to Archaeology of Central and Inner Asia (this includes Russia mainly Siberia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Dzungaria, Xingjian, Tibet, Manchuria). Moreover, the current number of scholars focusing on these regions is not large, and they are spread all over Europe and beyond often without the chance to discuss questions with other scholars who work in the same regions. The purpose of this gathering is to help young researchers tap into these existing, though thin, networks and to build new networks of their own with others who work in regions of Eurasia east of the Ural Mountains.

The Universal History of Step'anos Tarōnec'i

Introduction, Translation, and Commentary

Tim Greenwood

Hardcover: 376 pages

Publisher: OUP Oxford (15 Jun. 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0198792514

Presents the first ever English translation of this work, correlated with both the 1885 and 2012 Armenian critical editions for ease of reference

Contains extensive and detailed annotation, discussing key aspects of the text and guiding readers to up-to-date scholarship as well as incorporating previously untranslated epigraphic evidence

Offers new insights into Step'anos' historical and intellectual contexts as well as a study of the transmission and reception of the text in a substantial introduction

The Universal History (Patmut),iwn tiezerakan) of Step),anos Tarōnec),i is a history of the world in three books, composed by the Armenian scholar at the end of the tenth century and extending from the era of Abraham to the turn of the first millennium. It was completed in 1004/5 CE, at a time when the Byzantine Empire was expanding eastwards across the districts of historic Armenia and challenging key aspects of Armenian identity. Step),anos responded to these changing circumstances by looking to the past and fusing Armenian tradition with Persian, Roman, and Islamic history, thereby asserting that Armenia had a prominent and independent place in world history. The Universal History was intended to affirm and reinforce Armenian cultural memory. As well as assembling and revising extracts from existing Armenian texts, Step),anos also visited monastic communities where he learned about prominent Armenian scholars and ascetics who feature in his construction of the Armenian past. During his travels he gathered stories about local Armenian, Georgian, Persian, and Kurdish lords, which were then repeated in his composition. The Universal Historytherefore preserves a valuable narrative of events in Byzantium, Armenia, and the wider Middle East in the second half of the tenth century.

Medieval historians will be interested in a newly translated primary source: The Universal History of Step'anos Tarōnec'i. Edited and translated by Tim Greenwood, it is a history of the world from ancient times to about the year 1005. Step'anos Tarōnec'i was an Armenia Medieval historians will be interested in a newly translated primary source: The Universal History of Step'anos Tarōnec'i. Edited and translated by Tim Greenwood, it is a history of the world from ancient times to about the year 1005. Step'anos Tarōnec'i was an Armenian scholar interested in examining the role of his own country in the wider world. The Byzantines, Arabs and Persians all had interests in the Caucasus region, and Step'anos’ chronicle offers a lot of material relating to these medieval peoples as well as his own.

15th century map of Armenia and the Caucasus region

One of the final sections of this chronicle details the Battle of Aphahunk, which took place in the year 998. During the 990s David III Kuropalates, the Armenian ruler of a principality known as Tao, had been expanding his power, and this would lead to a confrontation with a Kurdish dynasty known as the Rawadids.

According to Step'anos, the Rawadid ruler Mamlan I decided to launch a raid into David’s lands in retaliation for the destruction of a mosque in the city of Manzakert. From his capital city of Tabriz, the Rawadids gathered “a massive army" of Persians and descended on the district of Aphahunk, now part of eastern Turkey. In response, David recruited his kinsmen and allies - the Kings of Armenia and Iberia (present-day Georgia) to send him 6000 troops each. The ruler of Tao then gave command of this joint army to one of his underlings because, according to Step'anos, “he was an old man and advanced in years.”

The chronicler then explains that when the Armenian-Iberian army reached Aphahunk they established a camp on a “rocky outcrop” suitable for a defensie stand. There they remained for many days, while the Rawadids were nearby. Step'anos writes:

When the forces of the Persians realized that they did not want voluntarily to come down to them [to do] battle, and especially when they realized their lack of numbers in comparison to their own multitude, on the first day of of the month of are, a Monday [18 October 998], towards dawn, they rose and set out a formation in a complicated disposition; they fashioned a battle-line across the face of the broad plain employing a Dalmastanean shield-wall. They went and drew near to the hill of the camp of the Armenians and Iberians. The sight of them was reckoned terrible in terms of its multitude by the onlookers; their number was reckoned to be 100,000 Persian infantry and cavalry. They gave a shout to prepare for battle and advance to the arena and to the place of encounter. The forces of Armenians and Iberians were afraid and sent [to them], ‘Let us do battle not today, but on another day.’ Then the Persians boasted arrogantly and sent messengers to them, ‘Willingly or unwillingly, let us engage today.’

Despite the challenge, only a few soldiers from the Armenian-Iberian side came down to engage in single combat, with five Iberians being killed. However, it seems that discipline within the Rawadid forces broke down, as they started to abandon their battle-line to attack the enemy camp. “Each one galloped and charged in order to plunder booty and pillage, as if ransacking corpses or refugees,” writes Step'anos.

In the next section, the chronicler describes how the Armenians and Iberians defended themselves, although the account seems to pivot to a more literary retelling:

They were organized not according to the formation of a line of battle, but everyone charged by family and seniority of contingents, roaring like lions, towards the forested multitude of the army of the Persians. They veered in attack against the right side; the Armenian force charged against the great crowd of people inflicting numerous wounds and striking deadly and deep sword-blows, they turned the savage barbarians with cruel thrusts. The Kamrakelk, the celebrated Mesxuni brothers, of the Iberian army struck with powerful strength, destroying either the cavalryman or the horse cut in two. Out of fear of them, they [the Persians] became scattered and they happened to encounter the whole force of Tayk’ stretched out; they scattered their corpses dead underneath their feet, the horses following this same example; like a fire kindled in forests or like eagles swiftly pouncing on startled flocks of birds. Here one could see streams of blood that became channels, and rivers were flowing, the corpses stretched out and the half-dead fallen among the dead.

At this point Mamlan retreated with his remaining forces, while the Armenians and Iberians pursued the fleeing troops until sunset. The Rawadid camp was also thoroughly plundered, and Step'anos concludes his account of the battle by noting:

The joy was even greater because, apart from the first five men who had died from the force of Iberia in single combat, no one else had been struck with a sword and no one was found dead out of all the multitude of Armenians and Iberians.

In the year 1000, dramatic cultural and political changes were underway in major regions of the world, including East and Central Asia. At Dunhuang, this was when the Library Cave (Cave 17) was sealed. Using the cave's contents as clues—some 40,000 objects, including manuscripts on spiritual, medical, philosophical and mundane matters, as well as paintings and textiles—Valerie Hansen, professor of history at Yale University, reconstructed the larger historical context of the Library Cave, the Thousand Buddha caves at Mogao, and city of Dunhuang, and the surrounding region.

About the Presenter

Valerie Hansen is professor of history at Yale, where she teaches Chinese and world history. Her current research examines the interconnected world of the year 1000, exploring the goods, people, and ideas that traveled from one region to another in a time with no mechanized transport. Her most recent publication is The Silk Road: A New History—for which she received the 2013 International Convention of Asia Scholars Book Prize Reading Committee Accolade for the best teaching tool in the Humanities. Her other publications include, The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600; Negotiating Daily Life in Traditional China, Changing Gods in Medieval China, 1127-1279; and Voyages in World History (co-authored with Kenneth R. Curtis).

This lecture series was made possible by the generous support of Mr. Andrew Cherng and Dr. Peggy Cherng, the Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.

Ancient Greece and China Compared is a pioneering, methodologically sophisticated set of studies, bringing together scholars who all share the conviction that the sustained critical comparison and contrast between ancient societies can bring to light significant aspects of each that would be missed by focusing on just one of them. The topics tackled include key issues in philosophy and religion, in art and literature, in mathematics and the life sciences (including gender studies), in agriculture, city planning and institutions. The volume also analyses how to go about the task of comparing, including finding viable comparanda and avoiding the trap of interpreting one culture in terms appropriate only to another. The book is set to provide a model for future collaborative and interdisciplinary work exploring what is common between ancient civilisations, what is distinctive of particular ones, and what may help to account for the latter.

Friday, 26 January 2018

NANCHANG, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- 26 january 2018At the tomb of the "Marquis of Haihun" in east China's Jiangxi Province, the identity of a tomb owner has been confirmed to be the eldest son of the controversial Chinese emperor Liu He.
Archaeologists said Friday, that a metal seal reading "Liu Chongguo" was unearthed from the No. 5 tomb at the Marquis of Haihun site, China's most complete Western Han Dynasty(206 B.C.- 25 A.D.) cemetery.

Li Cunxin, a researcher with the Chinese Society of Social Sciences, said the seal was discovered along with jade, crystal and agate in the tomb.
However, no remains of bones or teeth have been discovered. After studying historical records, researchers believe that Liu Chongguo was the eldest son of the Haihun marquis Liu He -- an emperor who was deposed and stripped of his nobility after just 27 days in office, but later made a marquis. The No. 5 tomb is located north of the tomb of Liu He.
Yang Jun, head of the archaeological team, said only a few items have been found in the nearby No. 4 tomb, and the No. 6 tomb has not yet been excavated. The excavation of the tomb of Marquis of Haihun began in 2011.
The remains of the marquis were found in a coffin in an interior chamber and removed in January 2016. A seal inside the coffin bearing the characters "Liu He," the marquis' name, helped confirm his identity. Marquis Liu He was the grandson of Emperor Wu, whose reign began one of the most prosperous periods in China's history.

Archaeologists excavate the coffin of the No. 5 tomb of the Marquis of Haihun site in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 25, 2018. A metal seal reading "Liu Chongguo" was unearthed from the No. 5 tomb at the Marquis of Haihun site, China's most complete Western Han Dynasty(206 B.C.- 25 A.D.) cemetery, and the identity of No. 5 tomb owner has been confirmed to be the eldest son of the controversial Chinese emperor Liu He. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

Monday, 15 January 2018

The bigger exhibitions of the British Museum are regularly accompanied by a series of very informative short video's about a number of different details of the exhibition itself.
In the case of the exhibition Scythians, Warriors of Ancient Siberia that closed on the 14th of January 2018 and that I was happy to see on Friday the 12th, this is not different.

Curator St. John Simpson tells you about a number of details. Enjoy!

Scythians: the alternative lifestyle of antiquity

Curator St John Simpson explains how the nomadic Scythians may not have lived in cities, but they still had the skill and desire to live the good life.

Scythians: fearsome warriors

The Scythians were renowned as fierce warriors – their horse archers were both extremely mobile and deadly. Curator St John Simpson discusses Scythian tactics and shows off some key weapons on display in the BP exhibition Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia.

Scythians: transforming horses for the afterlife

Scythian culture was tightly bound to their mastery of horse riding. Curator St John Simpson explains how even in death the Scythian nomads transformed their mounts into mythical beasts.

Scythians: drink and drugs in ancient Siberia

Alongside their reputation as fierce warriors the Scythians were known for drinking wine and fermented mares' milk, and howling with pleasure at the effects of hemp...

Scythians: Curator's choice

There are many amazing objects in our exhibition on the Scythians. Find out which one is Curator St John Simpson's favourite and why.

Scythians: tattooed people of the Siberian steppe

Curator St John Simpson describes the fascinating and intricate tattoos found on Scythian bodies.

Scythians: scientific analysis of the Oxus treasure

British Museum Scientist Aude Mongiatti shares some of her research on the Oxus treasure, a selection of beautiful gold and silver objects from the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia (British Museum)

Hardcover– 14 Sep 2017

The Scythians were an ancient nomadic people, who lived in the Russian steppe from 900 to 400 BC. They established a rich, nomadic civilization stretching from their homeland in Siberia as far as the Black Sea and the edge of China. Mobility and mastery of local resources were central to their culture and their achievements. Forerunners of the Sarmatians, the Huns, the Turks and the Mongols, the Scythians were feared adversaries and respected neighbours of the Assyrians, the Persians and the Ancient Greeks. Much of what we know about them comes from the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, as they left no written records of their own.

This book offers unique insights into the life and funerary beliefs of the Scythians, whose culture has been remarkably well preserved because of the unique conditions provided by the Siberian permafrost. Also included are many rare and recently discovered finds of personal garments and possessions made from gold, leather, fur and felt, revealing the legacy of one Russia’s oldest indigenous civilizations. Drawing on the latest research, this new book will appeal to anyone interested in the ancient world and Russian culture..

Sunday, 14 January 2018

The remoteness of the Siberian site should protect it from grave robbers

(Gino Caspari)

A Swiss archaeologist has unearthed the earliest known Scythian royal tomb in Siberia’s “Valley of Kings” after finding the site using high-resolution satellite images.

Gino Caspari, from the University of Bern, confirmed her suspicions during a dig last summer in the remote Siberian wilderness. The discovery of the Kurgan, a burial site of Scythian princes, was revealed by the university this week.

Analysis of wooden beams found at the site, known as Tunnug 1 or Arzhan 0, dated them to the 8th century BC, making the tomb nearly 100 years older than the earliest previously found.

“Archaeological methods have become considerably more sophisticated since the 1970s. Today we have completely different ways of examining material to find out more about the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age,” said Caspari.

Such tombs typically contain gold jewellery, weapons, pots and horses complete with harnesses. The dig at Arzhan 0 is ongoing, but it is hoped that the permafrost in the region has preserved the contents of the tomb.

The Scythians were a nomadic people thought to have originated in Persia – modern day Iran. They spread throughout Eurasia between the 9th and 1st centuries BC.

Saturday, 6 January 2018

BALKH, AGHANISTAN – In the white dusty plains of northern Afghanistan, archaeologists are seeking to unravel the secrets of one of the oldest mosques in the world, whose structure is still standing after a thousand years of solitude.

The Nine Domes Mosque, named for the cupolas that once crowned its intricately decorated columns, glimmers with remnants of the blue lapis lazuli stones that encrusted it.

Carbon dating in early 2017 suggests the ancient structure in Balkh province was built in the eighth century, soon after Islam swept into Central Asia — but exactly when, and who by, remains a mystery.

The very survival of this modest square of just 20 by 20 meters (65 by 65 feet) has beguiled experts.

“It’s a miracle it’s still standing despite time and erosion,” said Italian architect Ugo Tonietti, who specializes in heritage conservation.

The mosque, which has weathered the centuries partly due to the arid climate of the region, is one of the best-preserved Islamic buildings of its age in the world.

The mosque was once a dazzling spectacle. “This is a masterpiece. You have to imagine how it looked like, fully decorated with lapis, some parts in red. It was all covered and painted. It was like a garden of paradise inside, with a sky above, the domes with white and blue decoration,” he said.

The delicate vine leaves etched onto the pillars resemble those seen at Samarra, Tonietti said, referring to the powerful ninth century Islamic capital city that ruled the Abbasid Empire extending from present-day Tunisia to Pakistan.

But the mosque at Balkh could be even older, with the carbon dating and historical sources suggesting it could have been built as early as the year 794.

“This means that the mosque of the Abassid Empire has been influenced by Afghanistan, not the other way around,” said Julio Sarmiento-Bendezu, director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, who is leading excavations at the site.

“This mosque is exceptional in its beauty, conservation, decoration and the knowledge it holds,” he said.

But it was only rediscovered by chance. In the late 1960s, an American archaeologist traveling in the region asked local people to take her to a mosque destroyed by Genghis Khan, the Mongol emperor who rampaged across the region in the early 13th century.

Villagers led her to this lonely, half-buried temple some 20 kilometers west of Mazar-e Sharif.

Once found, however, the building languished once again as war was unleashed on Afghanistan, and it was not until 2006 that excavations began on the site.

“We thought at first that it was an isolated monument, but as we went on we saw that it was stuck to other older structures,” said Sarmiento-Bendezu. “At the end of the eighth century, the Buddhist world was in torment in the region. No doubt it was built on the remains of a monastery.”

In July archaeologists unearthed the base of the pillars, at a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet), but surveys suggest even deeper remnants.

“This is a window open to the ancient period. Here we can find the base of the next culture to come,” said Arash Boostani, an Iranian architect and engineer from the University of Tehran, who was commissioned by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to work on the site.

A specialist in conserving historical monuments, he said that some of the flower designs on the mosque are pre-Islamic and have been absorbed from local culture.

The building, which has been protected from the elements by a metal roof, remains vulnerable because its brick and patchwork structure is susceptible to erosion.

Its domes were toppled soon after the mosque was built and have lain at the site during the centuries since.

“With the earthquake in 819 most of the mosque collapsed,” Boostani said.

Another earthquake a hundred years later hit the outer walls and most of the 15 arches.

The experts stretched fiberglass nets to support the two main, deeply cracked arches, and injected cement — without altering the gypsum decorations.

“The place has always been occupied,” Sarmiento-Bendezu said. “Monastery and then mosque, abandoned and squatted in — we found fireplaces.

“Pieces of the domes, however heavy, were transported and used to cover nearby tombs: Why give yourself this burden if the building did not have strong symbolic value?”

It remains a place of pilgrimage: the women come to gather on Friday and weep over the tomb of an obscure saint, Hadji Pyada, the walking pilgrim, buried there in the 15th century.

“Like all excavations, those of the Nine Domes Mosque pose more questions than they answer,” said the archaeologist.

An ancient doll and a mythical animal were buried with a child from the Okunev culture in the Bronze Age.

The toy animal head is made from antler or horn. Picture: IIMK RAS

The rare discoveries of the pre-historic toys were made at the Itkol II burial ground in the Republic of Khakassia, southern Siberia.

The doll had ‘carefully worked out facial features’ and was made of soapstone - a soft rock made mostly of talc, said archeologist Dr Andrey Polyakov, from the Institute of History of Material Culture in St Petersburg.

The head of the doll is around 5 centimetres tall.

The doll had ‘carefully worked out facial features’ and was made of soapstone. Picture: IIMK RAS

The toy animal head is made from antler or horn.

Experts are as yet unsure what animal it depicts but it is perhaps mythical.

In both cases the bodies of the toys were made from organic material and did not preserve.

The finds were made in the grave of a ‘common child’ - not an elite burial, said Dr Polyakov.

A figurine of a pagan god pulled out of a Siberian river by an angler was likely a child’s toy or rattle to ward off evil spirits. Picture: Pavel German & Vladimir Bobrov, Tisul History museum

The Okunev culture is seen as having links to Native Americans - and this is not the first time their toys have been found.

Indeed, the latest finds add to an intriguing collection.

A figurine of a pagan god pulled out of a Siberian river by an angler was likely a child’s toy or rattle to ward off evil spirits.

It has almond-shaped eyes, a large mouth with full lips, and a ferocious facial expression.

On the back is 'plaited hair with wave like lines. Below the plait there are lines looking like fish scales.'

Fisherman Nikolay Tarasov made ‘the catch of a lifetime’, said museum staff.

Eight intricately carved figurines with the faces of humans, birds, elk and a boar lay on the chest of the ancient infant. Pictures: Andrey Polyakov & Yuri Esin

Meanwhile a collection of ghoulish figurines discovered with a baby’s remains in a birch-bark cradle two years ago have been hailed as the oldest rattles ever found.

Eight intricately carved figurines with the faces of humans, birds, elk and a boar lay on the chest of the ancient infant.

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Hans van Roon

About Me

My fascination for these subjects started in the '80 's by reading the book of Peter Hopkirk about the travels and explorations of Aurel Stein in Central Asia at the beginning of the 20th century.
Over the Silk Road through Central Asia, the Taklamakan Desert, Bokhara and Samarkand I arrived in the 13th century and followed the building of a world empire by Genghis Khan, his sons and grandsons.
His most famous grand son was Khubilai Khan and with him I ended in the Yuan Dynasty in the time when Marco Polo visited China and since than I never stopped reading again

Bibliotheca Sinica 2.0

Bibliotheca Sinica 2.0 explores Sino-Western encounters with a guide to digitized books on China published between 1477 and 1939

Yale Silk Road Database

The Yale Silk Road Database serves as a multi-disciplinary resource with relevance to students and faculty working in the fields of art and archaeology, religious studies, history, East Asian languages and literatures, Central Asian and Islamic studies.

International Dunhuang Project

IDP is a ground-breaking international collaboration to make information and images of all manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and archaeological sites of the Eastern Silk Road freely available on the Internet